How many ways can we teach reading?

What can we learn about contemporary concerns by reviewing a conference presentation from 1968?

Every now and again, usually when I don’t care if I irritate some members of an audience, I say something like, “You know, there are probably something like a million different ways to teach reading. [Pause.] Maybe five or six of them are really any good.”

When I’ve said something like that in a talk I’m giving to teachers, administrators, professors, and school psychologists, a lot of heads nod during the first sentence. And then I often get some worried—even some irritated—looks when, after a pause, I say the second sentence.

When I used to use that line, it was as an intro for me rolling out the evidence in favor of systematic, explicit instruction in decoding. I’ve not given that talk since the “science of reading” juggernaut hit education. Maybe the reaction these days would be somewhat different?